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best mathematicians of the 20th century: Russian Mathematicians in the 20th Century I͡Akov Grigorʹevich Sinaĭ, I︠A︡kov Grigorʹevich Sinaĭ, 2003 In the 20th century, many mathematicians in Russia made great contributions to the field of mathematics. This book, which presents the main achievements of Russian mathematics in that century, is the first most comprehensive book on Russian mathematicians. ... It presents differences in mathematial styles and focuses on Soviet mathematicians who often discussed what to do rather than how to do it.--Back cover. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Russian Mathematicians in the 20th Century Yakov Sinai, 2003 In the 20th century, many mathematicians in Russia made great contributions to the field of mathematics. This invaluable book, which presents the main achievements of Russian mathematicians in that century, is the first most comprehensive book on Russian mathematicians. It has been produced as a gesture of respect and appreciation for those mathematicians and it will serve as a good reference and an inspiration for future mathematicians. It presents differences in mathematical styles and focuses on Soviet mathematicians who often discussed “what to do” rather than “how to do it”. Thus, the book will be valued beyond historical documentation.The editor, Professor Yakov Sinai, a distinguished Russian mathematician, has taken pains to select leading Russian mathematicians — such as Lyapunov, Luzin, Egorov, Kolmogorov, Pontryagin, Vinogradov, Sobolev, Petrovski and Krein — and their most important works. One can, for example, find works of Lyapunov, which parallel those of Poincaré; and works of Luzin, whose analysis plays a very important role in the history of Russian mathematics; Kolmogorov has established the foundations of probability based on analysis. The editor has tried to provide some parity and, at the same time, included papers that are of interest even today.The original works of the great mathematicians will prove to be enjoyable to readers and useful to the many researchers who are preserving the interest in how mathematics was done in the former Soviet Union. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Mathematical Events of the Twentieth Century Vladimir I. Arnold, A.A. Bolibruch, Ludwig Faddeev, OSIPOV YURIY S., Yakov G. Sinai, Yu. I. Manin, V.B. Filippov, Vladimir M. Tikhomirov, Anatoly M. Vershik, 2010-02-12 This book contains several contributions on the most outstanding events in the development of twentieth century mathematics, representing a wide variety of specialities in which Russian and Soviet mathematicians played a considerable role. The articles are written in an informal style, from mathematical philosophy to the description of the development of ideas, personal memories and give a unique account of personal meetings with famous representatives of twentieth century mathematics who exerted great influence in its development. This book will be of great interest to mathematicians, who will enjoy seeing their own specialities described with some historical perspective. Historians will read it with the same motive, and perhaps also to select topics for future investigation. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: The Mathematical Century Piergiorgio Odifreddi, 2006-10-22 The twentieth century was a time of unprecedented development in mathematics, as well as in all sciences: more theorems were proved and results found in a hundred years than in all of previous history. In The Mathematical Century, Piergiorgio Odifreddi distills this unwieldy mass of knowledge into a fascinating and authoritative overview of the subject. He concentrates on thirty highlights of pure and applied mathematics. Each tells the story of an exciting problem, from its historical origins to its modern solution, in lively prose free of technical details. Odifreddi opens by discussing the four main philosophical foundations of mathematics of the nineteenth century and ends by describing the four most important open mathematical problems of the twenty-first century. In presenting the thirty problems at the heart of the book he devotes equal attention to pure and applied mathematics, with applications ranging from physics and computer science to biology and economics. Special attention is dedicated to the famous 23 problems outlined by David Hilbert in his address to the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900 as a research program for the new century, and to the work of the winners of the Fields Medal, the equivalent of a Nobel prize in mathematics. This eminently readable book will be treasured not only by students and their teachers but also by all those who seek to make sense of the elusive macrocosm of twentieth-century mathematics. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Principia Mathematica Alfred North Whitehead, Bertrand Russell, 1927 The Principia Mathematica has long been recognised as one of the intellectual landmarks of the century. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Five Golden Rules John Casti, 1996 In Five Golden Rules, John L. Casti serves as curator to a brilliant collection of 20th-century mathematical theories, leading us on a fascinating journey of discovery and insight. Probing the frontiers of modern mathematics, Casti examines the origins of some of the most important findings of this century. This is a tale of mystery and logic, elegance and reason; it is the story of five monumental mathematical breakthroughs and how they shape our lives. All those intrigued by the mathematical process, nonacademics and professionals alike, will find this an enlightening, eye-opening, and entertaining work. High school algebra or geometry - and enthusiasm - are the only prerequisites. From the theorem that provided the impetus for modern computers to the calculations that sent the first men to the Moon, these breakthroughs have transformed our lives. Casti illustrates each theorem with a dazzling array of real-world problems it has helped solve - how to calculate the shape of space, optimize investment returns, even chart the course of the development of organisms. Along the way, we meet the leading thinkers of the day: John von Neumann, L. E. J. Brouwer, Marston Morse, and Alan Turing, among others. And we come to understand the combination of circumstances that led each to such revolutionary discoveries as the Minimax Theorem, which spawned the exciting field of game theory, and the Simplex Method, which underpins the powerful tools of optimization theory. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Mathematical Analysis During the 20th Century Jean-Paul Pier, 2001 'Will be a valuable source book for analysts interested in the history of the main ideas of analysis, as well as for others wanting to know about developments in other fields.' -EMS'This is a superb history of 20th century mathematical analysis.' -Zentralblatt MathematikThis book studies the 20th century evolution of essential ideas in mathematical analysis, a field that since the times of Newton and Leibnitz has been one of the most important and prestigious in mathematics. Each chapter features a comprehensive first part on developments during the period 1900-1950, and then provides outlooks on representative achievements during the later part of the century. The book will be an interesting and useful reference for graduate students and lecturers in mathematics, professional mathematicians and historians of science, as well as the interested layperson. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Out of the Mouths of Mathematicians: A Quotation Book for Philomaths Rosemary Schmalz, 2020-08-03 Moritz's 'Memorabilia Mathematica' inspired this work, but this one differs in that sources are limited to mathematicians of the 20th century. Useful to researchers to facilitate a literature search, to writers who want to emphasize or substantiate a point, and to teachers, students, and other readeres who will have their appetite for the subject whetted by the 83 quotes. -- Book News, Inc. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Top 101 Mathematicians Louis C. Coakley, 2016-07-15 While mathematics impacts many aspects of our lives, mathematicians aren't necessarily household names. This compendium introduces readers to a brilliant collection of original thinkers. The group encompasses ancient sages, Renaissance geniuses, Enlightenment-era polymaths, nineteenth-century innovators, some of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, and current leaders in the field. Also covered are the geniuses whose names are preserved in Fermat's Last Theorem, Boolean algebra, and the Fibonacci sequence. A great way for readers to familiarize themselves with a fascinating group of influential figures. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Number Theory and Geometry through History J. S. Chahal, 2025-05-22 This is a unique book that teaches mathematics and its history simultaneously. Developed from a course on the history of mathematics, this book is aimed at mathematics teachers who need to learn more about mathematics than its history, and in a way they can communicate it to middle and high school students. The author hopes to overcome, through the teachers using this book, math phobia among these students. Number Theory and Geometry through History develops an appreciation of mathematics by not only looking at the work of individual, including Euclid, Euler, Gauss, and more, but also how mathematics developed from ancient civilizations. Brahmins (Hindu priests) devised our current decimal number system now adopted throughout the world. The concept of limit, which is what calculus is all about, was not alien to ancient civilizations as Archimedes used a method similar to the Riemann sums to compute the surface area and volume of the sphere. No theorem here is cited in a proof that has not been proved earlier in the book. There are some exceptions when it comes to the frontier of current research. Appreciating mathematics requires more than thoughtlessly reciting first the ten by ten, then twenty by twenty multiplication tables. Many find this approach fails to develop an appreciation for the subject. The author was once one of those students. Here he exposes how he found joy in studying mathematics, and how he developed a lifelong interest in it he hopes to share. The book is suitable for high school teachers as a textbook for undergraduate students and their instructors. It is a fun text for advanced readership interested in mathematics. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Alexandre Grothendieck Leila Schneps, 2014 Provides an explanation of what made Alexandre Grothendieck the mathematician that he was. Thirteen articles written by people who knew him personally - some who even studied or collaborated with him over a period of many years - portray Grothendieck at work, explaining the nature of his thought through descriptions of his discoveries and contributions to various subjects, and with impressions, memories, anecdotes, and some biographical elements. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Fields Medallists' Lectures Michael Atiyah, Daniel Iagolnitzer, 1997-10-13 Although the Fields Medal does not have the same public recognition as the Nobel Prizes, they share a similar intellectual standing. It is restricted to one field - that of mathematics - and an age limit of 40 has become an accepted tradition. Mathematics has in the main been interpreted as pure mathematics, and this is not so unreasonable since major contributions in some applied areas can be (and have been) recognized with Nobel Prizes. The restriction to 40 years is of marginal significance, since most mathematicians have made their mark long before this age.A list of Fields Medallists and their contributions provides a bird's eye view of mathematics over the past 60 years. It highlights the areas in which, at various times, greatest progress has been made. This volume does not pretend to be comprehensive, nor is it a historical document. On the other hand, it presents contributions from 22 Fields Medallists and so provides a highly interesting and varied picture.The contributions themselves represent the choice of the individual Medallists. In some cases the articles relate directly to the work for which the Fields Medals were awarded. In other cases new articles have been produced which relate to more current interests of the Medallists. This indicates that while Fields Medallists must be under 40 at the time of the award, their mathematical development goes well past this age. In fact the age limit of 40 was chosen so that young mathematicians would be encouraged in their future work.The Fields Medallists' Lectures is now available on CD-ROM. Sections can be accessed at the touch of a button, and similar topics grouped together using advanced keyword searches. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Birds and Frogs Freeman J Dyson, 2015-03-25 This book is a sequel to the volume of selected papers of Dyson up to 1990 that was published by the American Mathematical Society in 1996. The present edition comprises a collection of the most interesting writings of Freeman Dyson, all personally selected by the author, from the period 1990–2014. The five sections start off with an Introduction, followed by Talks about Science, Memoirs, Politics and History, and some Technical Papers. The most noteworthy is a lecture entitled Birds and Frogs to the American Mathematical Society that describes two kinds of mathematicians with examples from real life. Other invaluable contributions include an important tribute to C. N. Yang written for his retirement banquet at Stony Brook University, as well as a historical account of the Operational Research at RAF Bomber Command in World War II provocatively titled A Failure of Intelligence. The final section carries the open-ended question of whether any conceivable experiment could detect single gravitons to provide direct evidence of the quantization of gravity — Is a Graviton Detectable? Various possible graviton-detectors are examined. This invaluable compilation contains unpublished lectures, and surveys many topics in science, mathematics, history and politics, in which Freeman Dyson has been so active and well respected around the world. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries Volker R. Remmert, Martina R. Schneider, Henrik Kragh Sørensen, 2016-12-08 This book addresses the historiography of mathematics as it was practiced during the 19th and 20th centuries by paying special attention to the cultural contexts in which the history of mathematics was written. In the 19th century, the history of mathematics was recorded by a diverse range of people trained in various fields and driven by different motivations and aims. These backgrounds often shaped not only their writing on the history of mathematics, but, in some instances, were also influential in their subsequent reception. During the period from roughly 1880-1940, mathematics modernized in important ways, with regard to its content, its conditions for cultivation, and its identity; and the writing of the history of mathematics played into the last part in particular. Parallel to the modernization of mathematics, the history of mathematics gradually evolved into a field of research with its own journals, societies and academic positions. Reflecting both a new professional identity and changes in its primary audience, various shifts of perspective in the way the history of mathematics was and is written can still be observed to this day. Initially concentrating on major internal, universal developments in certain sub-disciplines of mathematics, the field gradually gravitated towards a focus on contexts of knowledge production involving individuals, local practices, problems, communities, and networks. The goal of this book is to link these disciplinary and methodological changes in the history of mathematics to the broader cultural contexts of its practitioners, namely the historians of mathematics during the period in question. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Oxford Figures John Fauvel, Raymond Flood, Robin Wilson, 2013-09-19 This is the story of the intellectual and social life of a community, and of its interactions with the wider world. For eight centuries mathematics has been researched and studied at Oxford, and the subject and its teaching have undergone profound changes during that time. This highly readable and beautifully illustrated book reveals the richness and influence of Oxford's mathematical tradition and the fascinating characters that helped to shape it. The story begins with the founding of the University of Oxford and the establishing of the medieval curriculum, in which mathematics had an important role. The Black Death, the advent of printing, the Civil War, and the Newtonian revolution all had a great influence on the development of mathematics at Oxford. So too did many well-known figures: Roger Bacon, Henry Savile, Robert Hooke, Christopher Wren, Edmond Halley, Florence Nightingale, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), and G. H. Hardy, to name but a few. Later chapters bring us to the 20th century, with some entertaining reminiscences by Sir Michael Atiyah of the thirty years he spent as an Oxford mathematician. In this second edition the story is brought right up to the opening of the new Mathematical Institute in 2013 with a foreword from Marcus du Sautoy and recent developments from Peter M. Neumann. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: A Mathematician's Apology G. H. Hardy, 2021-02-18 A Mathematician's Apology is the famous essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy. It concerns the aesthetics of mathematics with some personal content, and gives the layman an insight into the mind of a working mathematician. Indeed, this book is often considered one of the best insights into the mind of a working mathematician written for the layman. A Mathematician's Apology is the famous essay by British mathematician G. H. Hardy. It concerns the aesthetics of mathematics with some personal content, and gives the layman an insight into the mind of a working mathematician. Indeed, this book is often considered one of the best insights into the mind of a working mathematician written for the layman. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: One Deception to Rule Them All Gregory Lessing Garrett, 2019-01-23 In the world today, there is a Luciferian Occult Epistemological Autocracy where ÒTruthÓ is allocated to a few Luciferian Elite Scientism Priests. There is a self-professed superiority amongst these hypnotized pseudo-academics, drunk on blind ambition, and hell-bent on creating a worldwide Techno Mystical Technocracy. In their eyes, they should be the supreme rulers over all others in a sterile, Brave New World, digitally manipulated and controlled tyranny. Where any sane and seasoned thinker would see inherent limitations to what Mankind can know and perceive, there are no such intrinsic limitations of empirical or epistemic reasoning within this Cult of The Luciferian Elite. This riveting book explains how this all happened, why, and what the chilling conclusion will be for Mankind as it endures the One Deception to Rule Them All. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Math with Bad Drawings Ben Orlin, 2018-09-18 A hilarious reeducation in mathematics-full of joy, jokes, and stick figures-that sheds light on the countless practical and wonderful ways that math structures and shapes our world. In Math With Bad Drawings, Ben Orlin reveals to us what math actually is; its myriad uses, its strange symbols, and the wild leaps of logic and faith that define the usually impenetrable work of the mathematician. Truth and knowledge come in multiple forms: colorful drawings, encouraging jokes, and the stories and insights of an empathetic teacher who believes that math should belong to everyone. Orlin shows us how to think like a mathematician by teaching us a brand-new game of tic-tac-toe, how to understand an economic crises by rolling a pair of dice, and the mathematical headache that ensues when attempting to build a spherical Death Star. Every discussion in the book is illustrated with Orlin's trademark bad drawings, which convey his message and insights with perfect pitch and clarity. With 24 chapters covering topics from the electoral college to human genetics to the reasons not to trust statistics, Math with Bad Drawings is a life-changing book for the math-estranged and math-enamored alike. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Living Record Of Scientific History, The: Conversations With C N Yang Lizhen Ji, Liping Wang, 2024-12-27 Professor Chen-Ning Yang is best known for his achievements in Physics. He has also made significant contributions to the development of mathematics, as mathematics is extensively used in his research. In his long and fruitful academic career, he has witnessed many important events in the fields of Physics and Mathematics, and has collaborated or interacted with many great scientists in history. This book records eight interviews with Professor Chen-Ning Yang, which were conducted by the authors from 2016 to 2019.Through Professor Yang's unique perspective, major scientific events in the 20th century were revisited vividly, elaborating the development and mutual influences of mathematics and physics, as well as unveiling the academic work, the daily lives, and the personalities of scientists, as well as their collaboration and competition, some stories unknown to the public before are also revealed in this book. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Mathematical Analysis during the 20th Century Jean-Paul Pier, 2001-07-05 For several centuries, analysis has been one of the most prestigious and important subjects in mathematics. The present book sets off by tracing the evolution of mathematical analysis, and then endeavours to understand the developments of main trends, problems, and conjectures. It features chapters on general topology, 'classical' integration and measure theory, functional analysis, harmonic analysis and Lie groups, theory of functions and analytic geometry, differential and partial differential equations, topological and differential geometry. The ubiquitous presence of analysis also requires the consideration of related topics such as probability theory or algebraic geometry. Each chapter features a comprehensive first part on developments during the period 1900-1950, and then provides outlooks on representative achievements during the later part of the century. The book provides many original quotations from outstanding mathematicians as well as an extensive bibliography of the seminal publications. It will be an interesting and useful reference work for graduate students, lecturers, and all professional mathematicians and other scientists with an interest in the history of mathematics. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: The World as a Mathematical Game Giorgio Israel, Ana Millán Gasca, 2009-04-24 Galileo and Newton’s work towards the mathematisation of the physical world; Leibniz’s universal logical calculus; the Enlightenment’s mathématique sociale. John von Neumann inherited all these aims and philosophical intuitions, together with an idea that grew up around the Vienna Circle of an ethics in the form of an exact science capable of guiding individuals to make correct decisions. With the help of his boundless mathematical capacity, von Neumann developed a conception of the world as a mathematical game, a world globally governed by a universal logic in which individual consciousness moved following different strategies: his vision guided him from set theory to quantum mechanics, to economics and to his theory of automata (anticipating artificial intelligence and cognitive science). This book provides the first comprehensive scientific and intellectual biography of John von Neumann, a man who perhaps more than any other is representative of twentieth century science. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: When We Cease to Understand the World Benjamín Labatut, 2020-09-03 SELECTED FOR BARACK OBAMA'S SUMMER READING LIST 'A monstrous and brilliant book' Philip Pullman'Wholly mesmerising and revelatory... Completely fascinating' William Boyd Sometimes discovery brings destruction When We Cease to Understand the World shows us great minds striking out into dangerous, uncharted terrain. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger: these are among the luminaries into whose troubled lives we are thrust as they grapple with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, they alienate friends and lovers, they descend into isolated states of madness. Some of their discoveries revolutionise our world for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear. With breakneck pace and wondrous detail, Benjamín Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to break open the stories of scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Rational Number Theory in the 20th Century Władysław Narkiewicz, 2011-09-02 The last one hundred years have seen many important achievements in the classical part of number theory. After the proof of the Prime Number Theorem in 1896, a quick development of analytical tools led to the invention of various new methods, like Brun's sieve method and the circle method of Hardy, Littlewood and Ramanujan; developments in topics such as prime and additive number theory, and the solution of Fermat’s problem. Rational Number Theory in the 20th Century: From PNT to FLT offers a short survey of 20th century developments in classical number theory, documenting between the proof of the Prime Number Theorem and the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. The focus lays upon the part of number theory that deals with properties of integers and rational numbers. Chapters are divided into five time periods, which are then further divided into subject areas. With the introduction of each new topic, developments are followed through to the present day. This book will appeal to graduate researchers and student in number theory, however the presentation of main results without technicalities will make this accessible to anyone with an interest in the area. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Ramanujan's Notebooks Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar, 1985 |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Einstein's Italian Mathematicians Judith R. Goodstein, 2018-07-20 In the first decade of the twentieth century as Albert Einstein began formulating a revolutionary theory of gravity, the Italian mathematician Gregorio Ricci was entering the later stages of what appeared to be a productive if not particularly memorable career, devoted largely to what his colleagues regarded as the dogged development of a mathematical language he called the absolute differential calculus. In 1912, the work of these two dedicated scientists would intersect—and physics and mathematics would never be the same. Einstein's Italian Mathematicians chronicles the lives and intellectual contributions of Ricci and his brilliant student Tullio Levi-Civita, including letters, interviews, memoranda, and other personal and professional papers, to tell the remarkable, little-known story of how two Italian academicians, of widely divergent backgrounds and temperaments, came to provide the indispensable mathematical foundation—today known as the tensor calculus—for general relativity. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: The Moduli Space of Curves Robert H. Dijkgraaf, Carel Faber, Gerard B.M. van der Geer, 2012-12-06 This generalization of geometry is bound to have wide spread repercussions for mathematics as well as physics. The unearthing of it will entail a new golden age in the interaction of mathematics and physics. E. Witten (1986) The idea that the moduli space Mg of curves of fixed genus 9 - that is, the algebraic variety that parametrizes all curves of genus 9 - is an intriguing object in its own right seems to have come slowly. Although the para meters or moduli of curves surface in Riemann's famous memoir on abelian functions (from 1857) and in work of Hurwitz and later were considered by the geometers of the Italian school, for a long time they attracted attention only in the special case 9 = 1, where they were studied in the framework of the theory of modular functions. The work of Grothendieck, who in the early sixties pointed the way towards the right approach, and the subsequent construction (in 1965) of the moduli space Mg by Mumford were the first foundational work, to be followed by the construction of a compactification Mg by Deligne and Mumford in 1969. The theorem of Harris and Mumford saying that for 9 sufficiently large the space Mg is of general type was the first big insight in its structure. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Math through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others Expanded Second Edition William P. Berlinghoff, Fernando Q. Gouvêa, 2021-04-29 Where did math come from? Who thought up all those algebra symbols, and why? What is the story behind π π? … negative numbers? … the metric system? … quadratic equations? … sine and cosine? … logs? The 30 independent historical sketches in Math through the Ages answer these questions and many others in an informal, easygoing style that is accessible to teachers, students, and anyone who is curious about the history of mathematical ideas. Each sketch includes Questions and Projects to help you learn more about its topic and to see how the main ideas fit into the bigger picture of history. The 30 short stories are preceded by a 58-page bird's-eye overview of the entire panorama of mathematical history, a whirlwind tour of the most important people, events, and trends that shaped the mathematics we know today. “What to Read Next” and reading suggestions after each sketch provide starting points for readers who want to learn more. This book is ideal for a broad spectrum of audiences, including students in history of mathematics courses at the late high school or early college level, pre-service and in-service teachers, and anyone who just wants to know a little more about the origins of mathematics. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Development Of Mathematics Between The World Wars, The: Case Studies, Examples And Analyses Martina Becvarova, 2021-05-14 The Development of Mathematics Between the World Wars traces the transformation of scientific life within mathematical communities during the interwar period in Central and Eastern Europe, specifically in Germany, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Throughout the book, in-depth mathematical analyses and examples are included for the benefit of the reader.World War I heavily affected academic life. In European countries, many talented researchers and students were killed in action and scientific activities were halted to resume only in the postwar years. However, this inhibition turned out to be a catalyst for the birth of a new generation of mathematicians, for the emergence of new ideas and theories and for the surprising creation of new and outstanding scientific schools.The final four chapters are not restricted to Central and Eastern Europe and deal with the development of mathematics between World War I and World War II. After describing the general state of mathematics at the end of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century, three case studies dealing with selected mathematical disciplines are presented (set theory, potential theory, combinatorics), in a way accessible to a broad audience of mathematicians as well as historians of mathematics. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Great Currents of Mathematical Thought François Le Lionnais, 2004-01-01 50 essays by eminent scholars include meditations on Structures, Disciplines, Space, Function, Group, Probability, and The Mathematical Epic (Volume I) and on Mathematics and the Human Intellect, Mathematics and Technology, and Mathematics and Civilization (Volume II). 1962 edition. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: The Best Writing on Mathematics 2013 Mircea Pitici, 2014-01-19 The year's finest writing on mathematics from around the world, with a foreword by Nobel Prize–winning physicist Roger Penrose This annual anthology brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field, The Best Writing on Mathematics 2013 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else—and you don't need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today's hottest mathematical debates. Here Philip Davis offers a panoramic view of mathematics in contemporary society; Terence Tao discusses aspects of universal mathematical laws in complex systems; Ian Stewart explains how in mathematics everything arises out of nothing; Erin Maloney and Sian Beilock consider the mathematical anxiety experienced by many students and suggest effective remedies; Elie Ayache argues that exchange prices reached in open market transactions transcend the common notion of probability; and much, much more. In addition to presenting the year's most memorable writings on mathematics, this must-have anthology includes a foreword by esteemed mathematical physicist Roger Penrose and an introduction by the editor, Mircea Pitici. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us—and where it is headed. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Mathematicians of the World, Unite! Guillermo Curbera, 2009-02-23 This vividly illustrated history of the International Congress of Mathematicians- a meeting of mathematicians from around the world held roughly every four years- acts as a visual history of the 25 congresses held between 1897 and 2006, as well as a story of changes in the culture of mathematics over the past century. Because the congress is an int |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: 5000 Years of Geometry Christoph J. Scriba, Peter Schreiber, 2015-04-22 The present volume provides a fascinating overview of geometrical ideas and perceptions from the earliest cultures to the mathematical and artistic concepts of the 20th century. It is the English translation of the 3rd edition of the well-received German book “5000 Jahre Geometrie,” in which geometry is presented as a chain of developments in cultural history and their interaction with architecture, the visual arts, philosophy, science and engineering. Geometry originated in the ancient cultures along the Indus and Nile Rivers and in Mesopotamia, experiencing its first “Golden Age” in Ancient Greece. Inspired by the Greek mathematics, a new germ of geometry blossomed in the Islamic civilizations. Through the Oriental influence on Spain, this knowledge later spread to Western Europe. Here, as part of the medieval Quadrivium, the understanding of geometry was deepened, leading to a revival during the Renaissance. Together with parallel achievements in India, China, Japan and the ancient American cultures, the European approaches formed the ideas and branches of geometry we know in the modern age: coordinate methods, analytical geometry, descriptive and projective geometry in the 17th an 18th centuries, axiom systems, geometry as a theory with multiple structures and geometry in computer sciences in the 19th and 20th centuries. Each chapter of the book starts with a table of key historical and cultural dates and ends with a summary of essential contents of geometr y in the respective era. Compelling examples invite the reader to further explore the problems of geometry in ancient and modern times. The book will appeal to mathematicians interested in Geometry and to all readers with an interest in cultural history. From letters to the authors for the German language edition I hope it gets a translation, as there is no comparable work. Prof. J. Grattan-Guinness (Middlesex University London) Five Thousand Years of Geometry - I think it is the most handsome book I have ever seen from Springer and the inclusion of so many color plates really improves its appearance dramatically! Prof. J.W. Dauben (City University of New York) An excellent book in every respect. The authors have successfully combined the history of geometry with the general development of culture and history. ... The graphic design is also excellent. Prof. Z. Nádenik (Czech Technical University in Prague) |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: The New York Times Guide to the Arts of the 20th Century: 1900-1929 , 2002 Reviews, news articles, interviews and essays capturing 100 years of art, architecture, literature, music, dance, theater, film and television. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Tensor Analysis Liqun Qi, Ziyan Luo, 2017-04-19 Tensors, or hypermatrices, are multi-arrays with more than two indices. In the last decade or so, many concepts and results in matrix theory?some of which are nontrivial?have been extended to tensors and have a wide range of applications (for example, spectral hypergraph theory, higher order Markov chains, polynomial optimization, magnetic resonance imaging, automatic control, and quantum entanglement problems). The authors provide a comprehensive discussion of this new theory of tensors. Tensor Analysis: Spectral Theory and Special Tensors is unique in that it is the first book on these three subject areas: spectral theory of tensors; the theory of special tensors, including nonnegative tensors, positive semidefinite tensors, completely positive tensors, and copositive tensors; and the spectral hypergraph theory via tensors. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: The Wonders of the Heavens Frederick Smeeton Williams, 1852 |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Men of Mathematics E.T. Bell, 2014-03-31 From one of the greatest minds in contemporary mathematics, Professor E.T. Bell, comes a witty, accessible, and fascinating look at the beautiful craft and enthralling history of mathematics. Men of Mathematics provides a rich account of major mathematical milestones, from the geometry of the Greeks through Newton’s calculus, and on to the laws of probability, symbolic logic, and the fourth dimension. Bell breaks down this majestic history of ideas into a series of engrossing biographies of the great mathematicians who made progress possible—and who also led intriguing, complicated, and often surprisingly entertaining lives. Never pedantic or dense, Bell writes with clarity and simplicity to distill great mathematical concepts into their most understandable forms for the curious everyday reader. Anyone with an interest in math may learn from these rich lessons, an advanced degree or extensive research is never necessary. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Geometry, Topology, and Mathematical Physics V. M. Buchstaber, Sergeĭ Petrovich Novikov, I. M. Krichever, 2004 The second half of the 20th century and its conclusion : crisis in the physics and mathematics community in Russia and in the West -- Interview with Sergey P. Novikov -- The w-function of the KdV hierarchy -- On the zeta functions of a meromorphic germ in two variables -- On almost duality for Frobenius manifolds -- Finitely presented semigroups in knot theory. Oriented case -- Topological robotics : subspace arrangements and collision free motion planning -- The initial-boundary value problem on the interval for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The algebro-geometric approach. I -- On odd Laplace operators. II -- From 2D Toda hierarchy to conformal maps for domains of the Riemann sphere --Integrable chains on algebraic curves -- Fifteen years of KAM for PDE -- Graded filiform Lie algebras and symplectic nilmanifolds --Adiabatic limit in the Seiberg-Witten equations -- Affine Krichever-Novikov algebras, their representations and applications -- Tame integrals of motion and o-minimal structures. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Observing Interaction Roger Bakeman, John M. Gottman, 1997-03-13 Mothers and infants exchanging gleeful vocalizations, married couples discussing their problems, children playing, birds courting and monkeys fighting have this in common: their interactions with others unfold over time. Almost anyone who is interested can observe and describe such phenomena. But usually scientists demand more. They want observations that are replicable and amenable to scientific analysis, while still faithful to the dynamics of the phenomena studied. This book provides a straightforward introduction to scientific methods for observing social behavior. Because of the importance of time in the dynamics of social interaction, sequential approaches to analyzing and understanding social behavior are emphasized. An advanced knowledge of statistical analysis is not required. Instead, the authors present fundamental concepts and offer practical advice. |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Mathematics and the Divine Teun Koetsier, Luc Bergmans, 2004-12-09 Mathematics and the Divine seem to correspond to diametrically opposed tendencies of the human mind. Does the mathematician not seek what is precisely defined, and do the objects intended by the mystic and the theologian not lie beyond definition? Is mathematics not Man's search for a measure, and isn't the Divine that which is immeasurable ?The present book shows that the domains of mathematics and the Divine, which may seem so radically separated, have throughout history and across cultures, proved to be intimately related. Religious activities such as the building of temples, the telling of ritual stories or the drawing of enigmatic figures all display distinct mathematical features. Major philosophical systems dealing with the Absolute and theological speculations focussing on our knowledge of the Ultimate have been based on or inspired by mathematics. A series of chapters by an international team of experts highlighting key figures, schools and trains of thought is presented here. Chinese number mysticism, the views of Pythagoras and Plato and their followers, Nicholas of Cusa's theological geometry, Spinozism and intuitionism as a philosophy of mathematics are treated side by side among many other themes in an attempt at creating a global view on the relation of mathematics and Man's quest for the Absolute in the course of history.·Mathematics and man's quest for the Absolute·A selective history highlighting key figures, schools and trains of thought ·An international team of historians presenting specific new findings as well as general overviews·Confronting and uniting otherwise compartmentalized information |
best mathematicians of the 20th century: Astronomy and General Physics William Whewell, 1856 |
difference - "What was best" vs "what was the best"? - English …
Oct 18, 2018 · On the linked page, best is used as an adverb, modifying the verb knew. In that context, the phrase the best can also be used as if it were an adverb. The meaning is …
adverbs - About "best" , "the best" , and "most" - English …
Oct 20, 2016 · I like you best. I like chocolate best, better than anything else. can be used when what one is choosing from is not specified. I like you the best. Between chocolate, vanilla, and …
articles - "it is best" vs. "it is the best" - English Language ...
Jan 2, 2016 · This is the best car in the garage. We use articles like the and a before nouns, like car. The word "best" is an adjective, and adjectives do not take articles by themselves. …
expressions - "it's best" - how should it be used? - English …
Dec 8, 2020 · 3 "It's best (if) he (not) buy it tomorrow." is not a subjunctive form, and some options do not work well. 3A It's best he buy it tomorrow. the verb tense is wrong with 3A. Better would …
word choice - "his best-seller book" or "his best-selling book ...
Jun 12, 2016 · @J.R. If something is a New York Times Best Seller, the whole five word string is the adjective in use to modify book, although why book is specified is beyond me; perhaps to …
Word choice - Way of / to / for - Way of / to / for - English …
Jun 16, 2020 · The best way to use "the best way" is to follow it with an infinitive. However, this is not the only way to use the phrase; "the best way" can also be followed by of with a gerund: …
plural forms - It's/I'm acting in your best interest/interests ...
Dec 17, 2014 · have someone's (best) interests at heart (=want to help them): He claims he has only my best interests at heart. be in someone's/something's (best) interest(s) (=bring an …
"Best regards" vs. "Best Regards" - English Language Learners …
Dec 28, 2013 · The rule for formal letters is that only the first word should be capitalized (i.e. "Best regards"). Emails are less formal, so some of the rules are relaxed. That's why you're seeing …
Would be or will be - English Language Learners Stack Exchange
Oct 1, 2019 · It indicates items that (with the best understanding) are going to happen. Would is a conditional verb form. It states that something happens based on something else. Sometimes …
What is the correct usage of "deems fit" phrase?
Nov 15, 2016 · This plan of creating an electoral college to select the president was expected to secure the choice by the best citizens of each state, in a tranquil and deliberate way, of the …
difference - "What was best" vs "what was the best"? - English …
Oct 18, 2018 · On the linked page, best is used as an adverb, modifying the verb knew. In that context, the phrase the best can also be used as if it were an adverb. The meaning is …
adverbs - About "best" , "the best" , and "most" - English …
Oct 20, 2016 · I like you best. I like chocolate best, better than anything else. can be used when what one is choosing from is not specified. I like you the best. Between chocolate, vanilla, and …
articles - "it is best" vs. "it is the best" - English Language ...
Jan 2, 2016 · This is the best car in the garage. We use articles like the and a before nouns, like car. The word "best" is an adjective, and adjectives do not take articles by themselves. …
expressions - "it's best" - how should it be used? - English …
Dec 8, 2020 · 3 "It's best (if) he (not) buy it tomorrow." is not a subjunctive form, and some options do not work well. 3A It's best he buy it tomorrow. the verb tense is wrong with 3A. Better would …
word choice - "his best-seller book" or "his best-selling book ...
Jun 12, 2016 · @J.R. If something is a New York Times Best Seller, the whole five word string is the adjective in use to modify book, although why book is specified is beyond me; perhaps to …
Word choice - Way of / to / for - Way of / to / for - English …
Jun 16, 2020 · The best way to use "the best way" is to follow it with an infinitive. However, this is not the only way to use the phrase; "the best way" can also be followed by of with a gerund: …
plural forms - It's/I'm acting in your best interest/interests ...
Dec 17, 2014 · have someone's (best) interests at heart (=want to help them): He claims he has only my best interests at heart. be in someone's/something's (best) interest(s) (=bring an …
"Best regards" vs. "Best Regards" - English Language Learners …
Dec 28, 2013 · The rule for formal letters is that only the first word should be capitalized (i.e. "Best regards"). Emails are less formal, so some of the rules are relaxed. That's why you're seeing …
Would be or will be - English Language Learners Stack Exchange
Oct 1, 2019 · It indicates items that (with the best understanding) are going to happen. Would is a conditional verb form. It states that something happens based on something else. Sometimes …
What is the correct usage of "deems fit" phrase?
Nov 15, 2016 · This plan of creating an electoral college to select the president was expected to secure the choice by the best citizens of each state, in a tranquil and deliberate way, of the …